But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

3. People to Hold His Word [v. 9-16, Philippians 2:16]

III. GOD KNOWS [15:17-19, 16:1-14]

1. Our Hearts [15:17-19, Psalm 7:9]

Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.Proverbs 17:3 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.1 Thessalonians 2:4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

John 18:5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.Isn't that pitiful? You know why he stood with them? He had never stood with Him. If you don't stand with Him, you'll certainly be standing with "them." - Lester Roloff

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. - George S. Patton

You may be as orthodox as the Devil, and as wicked. - John Wesley

Dating is not an age level, it's a maturity level. Evangelist Jerry Johnston 8/22/1985

Christ died among sinners that we might live among saints. - Evangelist Joe Shadowens 7/31/1985

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Bildad, like Eliphaz, knows of no sin in Job’s life but is convinced there must be some unconfessed sin. Job was a sinner saved by grace but God says later his friends were wrong about many things. Though a sinner, Job was not in this fix because of sin. Unlike the more cultured Eliphaz Bildad is brutal in his treatment of Job. With friends like this, Job really doesn’t need enemies.

1. Bildad’s Name-Calling Begins [v. 1-2]

2. Bildad’s Knife-Twisting Manner [v. 3-7]

3. Bildad’s Faulty Focus Exposed [v. 8-22]

Someone once tried to convince me of a false doctrine by saying the early church fathers believed it. I told them as I tell you now, I don’t care if the early church fathers, the late church fathers, the Mamas & the Papas or Popeye’s daddy Poopdeck Pappy believed it- what I want to know is does the Bible teach it?

II. JOB’S REPLY TO BILDAD [9:1-35]

1. God Is Invincible [v. 1-10]

2. God Is Invisible [v. 11-24]

3. God Is Indivisible [v. 25-35, 1 Timothy 1:17]

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

III. JOB’S POSITION AND PLEA [10:1-22]

1. Sick & Tired [v. 1-13]

2. Confused & Confounded [v. 14-17]

“Job could not understand what God was doing, and it was important that he not understand. Had Job known that God was using him as a weapon to defeat Satan, he could have simply sat back and waited trustfully for the battle to end.” - Wiersbe

Q: Are dino footprints evidence of evolution?

A: Dinosaur footprints create an apparent dilemma for creationists. How could they ever be made and fossilized during the Flood? After all, with the Flood waters covering the entire earth, the dinosaurs would have nowhere to walk. Even if they did, the churning waters would erode away any footprints left behind. Secular geologists and skeptics often raise this question and are sometimes scathing in their mockery. Biblical geologists, on the other hand, say it is the conventional geologists who, in fact, face a dilemma. If geologic change takes place slowly, surely footprints made in mud would be obliterated by wind and rain long before the prints were covered by new sediments and hardened into rock. So who has a dilemma? Continue reading to find out and explore a specific case of fossilized dinosaur footprints discovered in Israel.

Answers for Women webinar and live chat

Join Answers for Women (a ministry outreach of Answers in Genesis) and women's author and speaker Georgia Purdom for a webinar and live chat on the topic of Eve. Eve was the original bad girl of the Bible. Her legacy was one of sin and despair. The curse God pronounced affects our parenting and marriages even today. But Eve has another legacy—one of salvation and hope. Through her seed came Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man. Understanding Eve and how God worked in and through her gives us hope for today. You'll discover that where sorrow and despair abound, God's love and mercy abound still more, and lead us to a life marked by hope in the Creator whose Word is true and who keeps His promises. Visit www.AnswersForWomen.org for dates and more information on this free webinar and live chat.

News to Note Quick Look

Divine divide: A recently reported study by meteorologist Carl Drews has suggested a way in which the waters of the Red Sea could have parted "naturally." Such an explanation might leave God with credit for the timing of the event, but little else. Read more.Nuanced Neanderthals: New research concludes that, consistent with the biological evidence, the Neanderthals were quite human. Read more.Also:

Friday, September 24, 2010

Acts 18:4 "And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."Turn the World Upside DownHave you ever wished you could literally shake some sense into people?Sometimes it would be nice to be able to shake them up, wake them up, and get them going!Instead of literally shaking people, the early church shook the world to its very foundation.The Bible records that people said of the early church that they "have turned the world upside down." (Acts 17:6)That would be a pretty good thing, wouldn't it?I wouldn't mind having my world turned upside down if it turned the right side up in relation to God!How do you turn the world upside down?How did the early church do it?First, Paul "reasoned" with them!Today, people think that to work with teens or to get people to a service, you must have fancy gimmicks in order to relate.Paul reasoned (gave them a reason) and aimed at their will.We should do the same--aim for the heart.I cannot know anyone's heart, but if I'll give the Bible reason, the Holy Spirit can do the work that only He can.The Bible is a supernatural book that aims at the heart and mind!Secondly, notice why Paul reasoned:"And he reasoned . . . and persuaded. . . ."His intent was to persuade, not just to fulfill a duty.He aimed at the heart and mind when he reasoned, but he was also aiming for change!The purpose of our reasoning and our preaching is to persuade, not to merely beat someone over the head.We need direct, firm preaching about what God says is right, but the purpose is to persuade people to Bible truth.All throughout the book of Acts, you will find an emphasis on the Word of God.In Acts 18:11, Paul stayed in Corinth for 18 months "teaching the word of God among them."In verse 28, Apollos "mightily convinced the Jews . . . shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ."In the previous chapter, you'll find more of the same: "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures." (Acts 17:2) We reason in order to persuade, using the Word of God.The Bible is the Authority, and with God's help we ought to reason with people to persuade them to It.Turning the world upside down begins with turning the world of one person upside down.The key to what the early church accomplished is found in the words reasoned, persuaded, and scriptures.Get started this morning with your own corner of the world!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Twice it says Paul "reasoned" with people Acts 17:2, 18:4. We should do the same! I want to do the same with you about witnessing. To review; 1. Never ask a person, "Are you a Christian." All church members think they are 2. Never say, as some tracts start out, "You are a sinner." You offend them. Say rather, "We are all in the same boat, we have all done wrong, we have all sinned, haven't we?" The reason for saying, "We have all done wrong" many think of sin only as murder or some heinous crime and they have not done that. All know they have done wrong but don't think of it as sin. Getting them to admit they have done wrong and equating it with sin, I find, gets them to admit they have sinned.

The pollution of sinReason by saying, "If you had a glass of pure clean water and someone put one drop of poison or filth in it would you drink it?" "Of course not" is the obvious answer. "One drop would pollute the whole glass, wouldn't it?" Just so one sin, pollutes us and we are unclean and unfit to go to heaven." This always gets the right response from them,

The penalty of sinGraciously say, "God says, the wages of sin is death." Not just physical death but it is a spiritual crime and it separates us from God.

The good newsThe good news is that "Christ died for our sins" paid the debt in full and rose again so He can be our Savior and forgive us our sins." He did not make a down payment for our sins or a partial payment but paid the debt in full. I have found, you must say "Christ died for our sins" over and over for them to catch on. A soul winner must know and say it clearly, that "the gospel," Christ died for our sins and rose again, "is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes." How can they believe it, if it is not specifically said? Make sense? This is the key to leading people to Christ. If you leave out anything, you must not leave out the gospel or you see no results or your results will be false. I cannot stress this enough.

O dear people, I find so many people are wide open to listen to the gospel if you genuinely care and graciously share the gospel.

Prayer:Father, bless Your witnesses and help us to get the gospel to lost and dying people, in Jesus name. All because of Calvary, sumner Write us at sumnerwempwritings@eastwest.org

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

We do not know what our future here on earth will be like. We know not the challenges, the high points, the low points, yes, the storms we must face- but God does. So, to prepare us for a future task he sends just the right storms to prepare us and contrary to what we might think at the time- it is never more than we can handle in Him.

1. The Storm is the Place of the Saviour’s Intent [v. 22]

2. The Storm is the Place of the Saviour’s Intercession [v. 23, Hebrews 7:25]

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

3. The Storm is the Place of the Saviour’s Interception [v. 24]

II. TO CHALLENGE OUR POTENTIAL [v. 25-31]

1. The Sea of Courage [v. 25-27]

2. The Sea of Challenge [v. 28-29]

3. The Sea of Crying [v. 30-31]

III. TO CHANGE OUR PERSPECTIVE [v. 32-33]

1. The Storm is Temporary [v. 32]

2. The Saviour is God [v. 33]

3. The Son is True [v. 34]

Who was delivered John the Baptist or Daniel? James, the brother of John or Simon Peter? The 3 Hebrews or Stephen. The simple and true answer is- they all were!

"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." (Revelation 3:17)

This is the heart of Christ's rebuke of the church at Laodicea, the "lukewarm" church (v. 16) of the last days. This is an evangelical church for its candlestick is still in place (note Revelation 1:20; 2:5), but it has become a neutral church, "neither cold nor hot" (3:15). The reason for its tepid witness is because it has become "rich, and increased with goods," comfortable in a culture which tends to equate material prosperity with success and God's favor. It may have acquired large and beautiful facilities, developed special programs of many kinds, featured a variety of musicians and other artists, and even gained a measure of political power. Yet, Christ calls i t poor and blind and naked!

Not all large churches become like this, of course, but it is always a real danger. The desire for large congregations can easily lead to compromising biblical standards of doctrine and practice. "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion," the prophet warned (Amos 6:1).

Note that the Lord began His letter to the Laodicean church by identifying Himself as "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14). This strongly suggests that a major reason for the development of such complacency in a large church (or a small church, for that matter) is neglect of these three doctrines--the sufficiency of Christ, the inerrant authority of God's Word, and the special creation of all things by God.

The letter to this church ends with the sad picture of Christ standing at its door, seeking admission (v. 20). "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (v. 22). HMM

Acts 12:5 "Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him."Trusting vs. WaitingIs there a difference between trusting God and waiting on God?In Acts 12, Peter was in prison, and the Bible says that "prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him."Peter had a specific need, and the believers were persistent in making prayer for him.In your life today, what do you need and what are you making?Are you making a plan?A protest?A petition?Trusting God is something you can do when you know how God could or might answer your prayer.In the back of your mind, you have an idea of how God might answer your prayer.Waiting on God is an entirely different matter!Waiting on God is trusting God even when you cannot see how He is going to answer.What should you do when you are waiting on God?Submissively and persistently pray for what you need!Notice what characterized the prayer that was made for Peter."But prayer was made without ceasing. . . ."Let me ask you a couple of questions: Did these people have great faith?Did they know exactly how God was going to answer?They had undoubtedly prayed the same way for James, but Herod killed James (verse 2).Later in this story, they were so busy praying for Peter that they were surprised when Rhoda said he was at the door!You might not have the faith you wish you had, but you should act on the faith you do have.Start by asking God for what you need--prayer is exercising the faith you have!When you are waiting on God, pray persistently until God answers or shows you otherwise.Do you know became of all of this?Verse 24 says, "But the word of God grew and multiplied."God's power is not diminished, and when we wait on Him and ask persistently, our world can be changed the same way in was in the book of Acts!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Sometimes the battle takes its toll, we feel like the enemy is winning, and our soul "melteth for heaviness" (v. 28). Many psalms share these intense emotions and seek God's face for relief and revival. These eight verses in Psalm 119 provide a concise remedy that every Christian needs sometimes.

Personal revival is as sure as the Word of God. But revival assumes our own deep desire to live in accordance with God's Word. God will "enlarge" (fill, expand) our heart when we seek His face (Psalm 81:10). HMM III

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke

The one simple thing that spells the difference is the word compassion. Somebody has to care. We have to love people half to death. Dr. Lee Roberson

We also continue to be astounded that NASA and most of the conventional scientific community believe a catastrophe or a series of catastrophes removed the water from the surface of Mars, but that the earth- which is now mostly covered by water- was not resurfaced by the global catastrophe described in Genesis. Geologic and other evidence continues to mount that the scriptural account of earth's history is accurate. - Larry Vardiman, PhD.

Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants. - William Penn

It is impossible to enslave, mentally or socially, a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom. - Horace Greeley

Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of free men. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. - Patrick Henry

The first thing necessary to control the people, is to separate them from their heritage. - Karl Marx

Monday, September 20, 2010

Acts 9:15 "But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel."Vision and PotentialWhen my grandfather, Bill Rice, first came to the Ranch in 1950, none of the buildings existed that you can see today.In fact, the hillside on which an auditorium and dining hall sit was nothing but a thicket of scrawny, scrubby cedar trees.You literally couldn't see twenty feet in front of you!But when Bill Rice stood on that hillside, he envisioned a dining hall and a tabernacle.When there were not cabins for campers or a lake down the hill, Bill Rice saw the potential.If you come to the Ranch today, and all you see is a dining hall, some cabins, and an auditorium, you are merely seeing what my grandfather saw sixty years ago!What Bill Rice did, and what we should do, is see the potential.Potential is seeing what can be, not merely what is already there.The truth is, ministry is not about buildings or great crowds; ministry is about what can be in the people you serve.In Acts 9, God told Ananias to go looking for a man named Saul of Tarsus.Saul (as you may well know) was no ordinary man-he had hunted down Christians and persecuted them!Yet on the road to Damascus, Saul was saved and Ananias was given the task of helping him.What we learn from this story is that God has the power to unlock potential.He doesn't merely see what is; He sees what can be.In any ministry or service to God, much of what you see may not be encouraging. Teaching a Sunday school class, working at camp, or helping run a bus route is not always easy and gratifying work!If all you see are unruly kids, ungrateful adults, and energy-zapping work, you are going to live a life of discouragement.If you instead see what can be and what God can do, you will live a life of vision and adventure!Ananias is largely an obscure character in the Bible.Most of us probably skim right over him in the larger story of Saul's conversion.However, Ananias was obedient to God despite Saul's reputation and despite his own bias (verses 13-17).You may have a hard time seeing the potential in someone or something, but you can always be obedient to the God who does see potential.What came of all this is that Ananias had ministry through Saul that exceeded his wildest dreams!Shortly after their meeting, we are told in verse 31 that the churches had "rest . . . and were edified . . . and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied."Saul was the one who preached, but Ananias had a direct part in what happened!You may not be a visionary this morning, but God is.If you will simply be obedient to the light God gives you, He will give you light beyond your own limited vision.

Eliphaz knows of no sin in Job’s life but is convinced there must be unconfessed sin. Job was a sinner saved by grace but God says later Eliphaz was wrong about many things. Though a sinner, Job was not in this fix because of sin. Ultimately the righteous will prevail and the wicked suffer but Job is interested in the ultimate- he is concerned about the immediate!

1. “Ask Anybody & They Will Agree with Me” [v. 1-7, Romans 3:4]

God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

2. “Seek God for Forgiveness” [v. 8-17, 1:5, 8, 42:7-9, I Jn 1:9]

3. “Do Right and All Your Problems will be Over” [v. 17-27, Matthew 5:45]

Sunday, September 19, 2010

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." (Genesis 2:19)

This event occurred on the sixth day of creation week, between the formation of Adam's body and that of Eve (note Genesis 1:26-31; 2:7, 22), and there is no reason not to take it literally. Nevertheless, modern theistic evolutionists, including many seminary professors, have found two imaginary problems which they argue prevent taking it literally.

The first quibble finds a "contradiction" with Genesis 1:21-25, which says the animals were all made before Adam--not afterward. This supposed problem vanishes when the text verse is translated as follows: "The LORD God had formed every beast of the field." This is a legitimate--in fact, preferable--translation of the Hebrew original.

The other alleged difficulty is the supposed inability of Adam to name all the animals in one day. But in reality, he only had to give names "to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field" (Genesis 2:20)--that is, those nearby birds, cattle, and other mammals that might be seen as potential candidates to be a "help meet" for Adam. No marine animals, reptiles, insects, or "beasts of the earth" (Genesis 1:24; i.e., living far away from Eden) were brought to him. Furthermore, he did not need to name every species, but only each relevant "kind"--possibly each "family" (i.e., dogs, horses, eagles, etc.).

Finally, his divinely created mental abilities were not yet limited by the disease of sin, so that he could appropriately name each kind much more rapidly than we could do. Thus, no sincere Bible student should be tempted to doubt Genesis by any such "difficulties" as these. HMM

Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Pastor Rick Jackson

We believe in the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.

I. THE SIMILARITIES OF HEAVEN & HELL

1. Both are Everlasting [Galatians 6:8]

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.2 Thessalonians 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

2. Both are Inhabited by Conscious Individuals [Lk 16:22-31]

3. Both are Prepared by God [Matthew 25:41]

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

II. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL

1. The Quality of Existence [Dan. 12:2]

Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

2. The Purpose of the Existence [2 Thessalonians 1:9]

Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

3. The Designation of the Existence [Matthew 25:41]Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

How glibly we use the terms redeemed, redemption, and ransom. But what do they mean, and more importantly, what did Christ's act of redemption mean?

Three Greek words and their derivations are used in the New Testament to denote various aspects of this truth. In our text, "redeemed" comes from the Greek word lutroo, which means to set free, to buy back, or to ransom. Christ's innocent blood, sacrificed for us, bought us back. "By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12).

But redeemed from what or from where? From slavery to sin. Jesus taught, "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin" (John 8:34). Thankfully, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Galatians 3:13). The Greek word used here is exagorazo, meaning to buy up, to ransom from the market place (i.e., agora), which could be called "the slave market of sin." He ransomed us, He redeemed us from the horrors of slavery to sin by His death on the cross.

The final root word is apolutrosis, which means "to ransom in full." He has paid the full penalty! Nothing more need be paid or done! Indeed, "It is finished" (John 19:30), He said as He died. In Him, and in Him alone, "we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7).

Each of us needs to appropriate His plan, "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24). JDM

Q: Will the world end in 2012?

A: We recently received this question in an email:

I have been hearing a lot lately about the claims that the world will end 2012.

Yes, this is a popular issue in our culture today and will likely receive more hype as the year 2012 approaches. But there is absolutely no Scriptural basis for such claims, nor is there any credible support at all. It is simply a baseless myth, which the Bible tells us to avoid (1 Timothy 4:7; 2 Peter 1:16).

I know what scripture says about the end, but it still creeps me out.

There is no need to worry about the events of the end times. God is in control. In fact, in Paul's first letter to the believers in Thessalonica, he encouraged believers to be comforted by thoughts about Christ's return (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18).

. . . the Mayan Calendar (The Long Count) ends in 2012 (13.0.0.0.0. in Long Count)

This is actually where the 2012 date comes from. The Mayans were astute observers of astronomical events, but this has no bearing on whether or not they could predict the future. Only God can do that (Isaiah 46:9–10). They did have several calendars, and one of them, the long count, according to one interpretation of it, does come to an end on December 21, 2012. There is little, if any, support from Mayan literature that massive catastrophes will occur on that date. Continue reading to discover the truth about the 2012 prophecies as Tim Chaffey, AiG–U.S., responds biblically to this feedback question.

News to Note Quick Look

Superbugs from India: A new strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has arrived in America from travelers to South Asia. Read more.Constructive comet: Could the destructive impact of a comet construct life on earth? Read more.Also:

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When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psalm 8:3-4